Same Old Weirdness at E3

It was oen of those classic E3 moments. I'm standing in a crowded open hallway on the second floor of EA's booth waiting to see Army of Two. It's hot as Hell up there with all of the people and computers. And I look across the hall to Activision's booth and there's Tony Hawk skating on a full-sized half-pipe performing ollies and jumps. Then there's a BMX pro pulling stunts while Tony takes a break.

It's the kind of thing you'd never see anywhere else. I guess I should be used to it by now, but it's still surreal. The past few years when I've had my behind-closed-doors meeting with Activision, Tony took me through his game.

I found it ironic that Activision chose the side of its booth that faces EA to showcase the James Bond clips. EA had the James Bond license until last month, then dumped it after poor sales. Activision picked it up. Last year, EA's booth was all about Bond. This year, EA's PR desk faces plasma screens that play Bond film clips in a loop.

It may just be me, or the fact that you go deaf after a while of walking the floors, but it seemed a bit quieter in the South Hall this year. The West Hall, where Sony and Nintendo call home, has always been quieter than the South.

Thursday is a pretty packed day for me. I'll be seeing some Sony PS3 games up close and personal, as well as new Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii games. The weather is once again movie-perfect for the walk over to the dark convention halls.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the next-generation games will be for this year from the first-party companies. They're the ones who traditionally can push the limits a bit more, because they get a head start on the technology (at least for launch).